Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Search This Blog

Pages

Granny.

Memories. How enlivening they can be, when they call out to us from our distant past, and add a touch of freshness to our lacklustre lives! Memories, of people from our past, who no longer share the physical world with us; memories of the warmth and the love they showered on us. Is there anything else that can bring an instant smile to our faces,overwhelm us with a deluge of emotions, and quench our thirsty souls, leaving us refreshed and invigorated? Many a times, when I am lost in my thoughts, I revisit my past, and, am at once enveloped in a snugness, like the comfort of a soft old blanket, stashed away in the attic, to be retrieved every once in a while, and used as a cocoon in the cold days of winter.
SInce quite some time, these memories have been of my grandparents. Their love, their indulgence, it fills my heart with emotions that I haven't experienced in quite a long time. I have forgotten what it feels like to be pampered silly by a pair of soft, wrinkled hands, and cuddled in their cushiony warmth, listening to stories of kings, queens and scary demons, being fed my favourite food prepared with such love, the taste lingers for days to come.
I remember my dear old granny - my mum's aunt. A cheerful old soul, she had a ready smile that reached her eyes and touched our hearts. For me, she was the epitome of affection. Not once did I see her feeling gloomy, or even angry with us kids. So patient, so understanding, such an empathetic human being - she really was special! Every time I think of her, her smiling face comes to my mind, and fills my heart with happiness. It has been long since she left this world, but, her memories are very much alive in my heart.
I still remember my childhood, when holidays spent at her place were filled with joy. I didn't have many cousins to play with over there, but I had her! We would stand in the balcony of her fourth floor apartment, chatting endlessly, watching the world pass us by. Some of the memories of those days are so vivid, I even remember what we said to each other, the clothes we wore, the food she cooked for me...the list goes on.
The quaint old apartment building she lived in, now stands dwarfed by a cluster of modern high rises. Yet, there is a charm that this old timer exudes, that hasn't faded with time. The warmth that emanates from this old structure (nearly fifty years old!) matches the warmth that I experience when I think of her, of her love, which, too, hasn't faded with time! I know she is somewhere around - an angel, looking after all of us, which is what she did when she was with us. I know, I will meet her again, some day. Until then, I will visit her in my memories, and come back refreshed.
Miss you, aaji!

I can feel the longing in your voice, Shilpa, when you speak of her. How it must hurt and also give you pleasure, the memory of your grandmother. There are these souls who are sent to make a difference in our lives and we treasure them, don't we? :)

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning to live without the person whom we loved more than our life is one of the toughest things we humans experience during our life.
Almost every moment of our day we spend in their shadows, enveloped in their love; we don't even realise when they became an extension of our selves. We come to accept them along with their flaws, their peculiarities, which often have the potential to drain us of our patience. Yet, we love them, unconditionally, at times wondering how we survived before they entered our world. Often, we also wonder how we will ever survive after they leave our world.

The human mind is such. Its ability to give birth to a thought and then mull over it however unpleasant it may be, is quite baffling! We realise we stand to lose our sanity if we don't get rid of that negative thought; we understand how important it is to live in the moment and enjoy it with the loved ones we fear losing someday, yet we keep worrying ourselves to death about what would happen t…

Life does that. Springs surprises when you are least expecting any. And you are left baffled, overwhelmed, ecstatic, and, surprised, too! You find it unbelievable that such a thing could happen with you. And, it takes a lot of probing and analysing to finally accept that something this unimaginable could happen to you, too!

The above emotions are what I went through when I received a message from the Manager of Baggout that my blog had been selected as one of the 15 best love and relationships blogs in India. I must have read the message 5 times and still found it unbelievable. In fact, I thought someone was playing a prank. I made enquiries, tried finding out all about Baggout and went back to where I was - in a state of utter disbelief! Call it low self esteem if you wish, but I wondered how anyone could find my one and a half year old blog worthy of any such mention.

The feeling was good, nay, great. But, unless I saw it all in black and w…

I admit, I am late in discussing this event, but did you watch the controversial 'Koffee with Karan' episode, two weeks ago? The one where the ubertalented Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan were Karan Johar's guests on his famous couch, sipping coffee along with him? Did you notice Kangana's confidence and her sassiness? Do you remember her repartees, her jibes, her ripostes that were well-aimed at Mr. Johar? How fearlessly she spoke her mind without mincing words! And, she was in conversation with one of the Big Daddies of Bollywood.

I confess, I am an admirer of Ms. Ranaut, and I was blown away by her candour. The fact that she gave two hoots about diplomacy, and about the men in power in the hindi film industry, shows how self-assured she is. She wasn't born into the industry, with a silver spoon; she entered the industry as an "outsider", who, despite being written off by the industry bigwigs, worked her way up the very competitive ladder, right to…